Florida Expedition
The Florida Expedition, also known as the Cuba-Confederae War or the Florida War of Independence, was a campaign for a military conflict and military expedition carried out by the New Confederate States of America to the Florida Peninsula, the latter of which was claimed by the Second Republic of Florida. The campaign began in 2209 when Florida soldiers engaged Confederate troops famously ambushing and eliminating the 20th Army Engineer Battalion. The Confederate Army was sent to secure the Region and would capture major Florida strongholds such as Orlando, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, although Miami held out until the end of the war on August 20th, 2210 when Florida was annexed into the Confederacy. Background The territory of Florida was one of the main annexation states for the New Confederate States of America due to its historical importance and geographical position. At first the politicians of Montgomery decided to adopt an approach known as "Border Doctrine" based on the peaceful and humanitarian approach to local communities with relief tasks; repair of bridges, roads, elimination of mutant pests, groups of raiders including food distribution in famine settlements. This tactic worked making North Florida consider itself Confederate also motivated by the arrival and establishment of settlers from national territories. These settlers received uninhabited land and a five-year tax exemption (a time considered more than enough for the owner to get or create a job). The main problem was that south of St. Augustine, Gainesville and Cedar Key there was an unrecognized state called the Second Republic of Florida. This Second Republic possessed a remarkable hostility towards the Confederate States because the main activities of the Second Republic were piracy, assault of ships, and raids, assaults of the American coast. Activity that they displayed in the Gulf of Mexico and also in the Atlantic, even reaching Carolina or South America. The casus belli for the deployment of the army was when the 20th Army Engineer Battalion in charge of humanitarian tasks in the town of Ocala was assaulted and exterminated by a contingent of Floridian militiamen armed with AK-74 rifles, Light machine gun RPK and Rocket Launcher RPG- 7C, armament that was discovered supplied by the Second Republic of Cuba which was threatened by the expansionism of the Confederacy and the ghost of the former Capitalist giant that suffocated them in the past. Cuban-Pirate Support The Congress upon receiving news of the death of 400 Confederate soldiers. He declared war on the Second Republic of Florida, which was later discovered to have support from the Republic of Cuba in the form of supplies; weapons, ammunition and vehicles together with the support of a regiment of Black Wasps that are known elite forces of the Armed Forces of Cuba. Armies and weapons Armies The Florida army had a total force, including reservists, of 10,000, although this number could not be maintained, since reservists were vital to civilian life. The main advantage of the Florida army was its veteran war in the land that is Florida. The Confederate States deployed the First Marine Regiment along with the entire 4th Infantry Division supported by elements of the Tank battalions of the 5th Armored Division along with air support in the form of F-80 Meteor and UH-1 Huey. Weapons The Confederate army was armed with a large majority of weapons of American origin, weapons they shared with the Florida troops in their first fighting. The Confederates deployed a remarkable amount of armored vehicles including 20 Patton tanks which exerted a notable role in battles as an assault cannon, destroying fortified positions, bunkers, even buildings that served as cover or nuisance. This difference was also supported by the use of artillery along with air support in the form of the F-80 Meteor. The Republic of Florida, thanks to its business and good relations with the government of Cuba, equipped its troops with a mixture of Soviet and Western weapons, the use of RPG rocket launchers in the units becoming common. A differential factor was that Florida made extensive use of improvised Armored Vehicles and Various re-purposed civilian aircraft which the latter mostly played an aerial reconnaissance and tactical bombardment role that little marked in the war except for a few cases. Confederate Offensive After the incident known as the Ocala Massacre, troops in Florida were commanded by General James Lee, who had just arrived from Atlanta. Lee would supervise the construction of the Main Operating Base (MOB) south of Jacksonville, the main population within the former state of Florida under Confederate control. The start of the offensive came in May of 2209 when the Confederate States launched an offensive to the south with the goal of conquering the cities of Orlando and Tampa. General Lee, supported by the IFVs and the MBTs of the 5th Armored Division, advanced on Orlando, eliminating 50% of the mechanized forces of the Republic in an open confrontation where the superiority of IFV crews and tanks became clear in the armored warfare. Orlando Orlando was the first population of importance to be attacked by General Lee, Lee used the Howitzer to bomb the main fortified areas and buildings that could serve as a bulwark to facilitate the task of the infantry supported by the tanks. Remarkable use was also made of the F-80s as air support. Orlando was conquered within four days. Tampa The Battle of Tampa, also known as the Tampa landing, was a confrontation led by General Oscar Dent where the presence of a company of Cuban special forces was discovered, which ended up retiring after being decimated. The Battle of Tampa was the first combat action in a war with another state by the Marine Corps of the Confederate States that resulted in 104 killed and 116 wounded marines. Fort Line After the Confederate Offensive, the Florida Military Command with support from Cuba, built and fortified a line of forward operating base and fire support base equipped with howitzer of various calibers provided by the Cuban Army. That is why General Lee built an equivalent, the situation meant that the option of an airborne assault that raffled the FOBs could be seen and the FSB of artillery could be neutralized. For such a task in the end the conclusion was reached of making a pincer movement attack. The key points would be the city of Fort Myers and Fort Lauderdale. Fort Myers Fort Myers had the advantage of having the Caloosahatchee River as a defensive wall. Due to this it became necessary to use the UH-1 Huey to deploy units equipped with armature servo. These units would be supported by UH-1C equipped with seven-tube XM158 rocket launchers, 7.62 mm Minigun GAU-2 / A multi-tube machine guns, and 7.62 mm M60 machine guns for door gunners. Such deployment of means was the first airborne landing in the history of the Confederate army that marked a milestone in the tactics of the Confederate states. The battle resulted in a decisive victory that ended four hours after the start due to the withdrawal of the defenders. Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale was assaulted by the Marine Corps supported by the UH-1C. In Fort Lauderdale, the casualties were higher because of the Florida General; Robert Farmer, ordered the bombing of the city, breaking down the buildings between civilians and combatants. After this, President William Marvin degraded the general under the charge of murder of inhabitants of Florida. Robert Farmer was captured and subsequently summarily executed in Jacksonville. Fort Lauderdale took a week to conquer but after its capture, the entire line of fortifications ended up collapsing either due to lack of supplies or the capture either violent or peaceful of the forts. Siege of Miami The Siege of Miami was one of the main combat actions of the Florida Expedition, fought by the Confederate and Florida forces in and around Miami, Florida, between October 21, 2209 and August 20th, 2210. Although most of The civilian population of Miami was evacuated before the battle began, the death of a total of 6,734 civilians could not be avoided, much of the city was destroyed and both sides suffered great losses. It was one of the largest urban battles fought by the Confederate forces. Category:Template Category:Wars Category:Events